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April 12 - Our Advocate
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1
Sin is so devastating that it hardly is confessed that we are again tempted a hundredfold by the world, our eyes and our thoughts. We would all be utterly defeated and shrink away from our God if not for the always ministering Jesus Christ our Lord. John’s hope and prayer was that none of us would sin. This is a ever present possibility and promise. Reading the word and trusting in God’s power is all we need to overcome sin. But even if we do sin, that is in a cause for self-pity or defeat because we have an Advocate.
The word used here for Advocate is “parakletos” which means helper, comforter, or one who comes along side of. It is often used to describe the role of the Holy Spirit as comforter. But here we see that Jesus’ role is also one of coming along side of us and being the one who speaks on our behalf. An advocate is one who comes along side of another to speak on their behalf before a judge.
Though we do not want to use this verse to go on sinning, we do realize that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is Christ Jesus our Lord. We have a comforter and advocate even before we sin. Jesus died on the cross when all of our sins were future. If we look closely we will see the immense love that God has for those who trust in the Son. Even when we are guilty in sin, our Advocate pleads our case and gives us comfort. He does not give us comfort in our sin, but surely His comfort comes when we confess our sin.
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